BBackupp is a free, open-source Mac application that takes full, encrypted backups of your iPhone or iPad directly to any folder on your Mac — completely bypassing iTunes and Apple's own backup infrastructure.
What is BBackupp?
BBackupp is a native macOS utility for creating and managing local iOS device backups without touching Finder, iTunes, or iCloud. You connect your iPhone or iPad over USB, choose a destination folder, and BBackupp handles the rest — producing a standard Apple-format backup that you own and can store wherever you like.
The project lives on GitHub under Lakr233's profile and is actively maintained. Free to download, no subscription, no account required.
What does BBackupp do best?
BBackupp excels at giving you precise, repeatable control over exactly where your iOS backups land. Unlike Finder's buried sidebar backup option — which silently writes to a fixed system path — BBackupp lets you point at any volume: an external SSD, a NAS mount, a versioned backup drive. That one difference is worth the install on its own.
- Destination freedom: any writable folder, any volume — not just ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync
- Encryption support: back up with a password so Health, Keychain, and financial data are included and protected
- Multiple devices: manage backups for several iPhones or iPads from a single interface without them stepping on each other
- Clean, minimal UI: one window, obvious controls — no wizard flows or upsell screens
- Open source: you can read exactly what it does with your data before trusting it
I've been running it weekly against an aging iPhone SE and an iPad that family members rely on. The backup completes faster than Finder's equivalent, and I can see the resulting package sitting right where I put it — no hunting through ~/Library with a file-size sort.
Is BBackupp free?
Yes — BBackupp is completely free to download and use. There is no Pro tier, no in-app purchase, and no licence key. It is open source (MIT-style) and distributed through GitHub Releases and Homebrew Cask. The only cost is your time to install it.
Who should use BBackupp?
BBackupp is the right tool for Mac users who care about iOS backup hygiene but find Apple's own options frustratingly opaque. If you fall into any of these groups, install it today:
- Power users who want backups on an external drive or NAS, not buried in the system library
- Families managing multiple iPhones — BBackupp keeps each device's backup cleanly separated and labelled
- Developers who need reliable, scriptable device snapshots before testing OS betas
- Privacy-conscious users who want local, encrypted backups without iCloud touching their data
If you back up exclusively to iCloud and never think about it, BBackupp adds little. But the moment you want a local copy you fully control, it beats every built-in alternative.
What are the best BBackupp alternatives?
The obvious starting point is Finder's built-in backup — reliable but destination-locked and buried in a sidebar panel most users never discover. iTunes (still available on older macOS versions) offers the same limitation. For more feature-rich options, iMazing is the category leader: it adds selective restore, health analytics, and a polished UI, but costs around $45 per licence. AnyTrans is another commercial choice with similar depth. BBackupp sits in a different category entirely — it does one thing (backup to a location you choose), does it well, costs nothing, and shows its source code. For straightforward archival backups, it competes favourably with anything on this list.
How does BBackupp compare to iMazing?
iMazing is the more powerful tool: it lets you browse backup contents, restore individual messages or health records, and automates backups on a schedule with a background service. If you need that level of granularity, iMazing earns its price. BBackupp makes no attempt to match that feature surface — it is a focused backup utility, not a device management suite. Where BBackupp wins is simplicity, cost (free vs. paid), and the reassurance of open-source code. For users who just want a solid, auditable local backup in a folder they control, BBackupp is the leaner, faster answer.
